I wouldn’t even have raised this if we weren’t accustomed to San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich holding out veteran players — most notably Tim Duncan — under similar circumstances and if it hadn’t happened two years ago here with Sidney Crosby.

On April 6, 2014, Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma held out Crosby, Chris Kunitz, Brooks Orpik and Olli Maatta from the Penguins’ only game of the season in Denver. The Penguins had played the night before at Minnesota.

These gentlemen are from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, here in Pittsburgh to support their boys — Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon — for Thursday night’s game between the Avalanche and Penguins. Each of the 60-somethings play hockey three times a week, they said, and invited yours truly and my beer-league groups up to the Halifax/Cole Harbour/Dartmouth area for a game or two. Sounds like a blast. Really had a nice time visiting with these guys during the Avs’ morning skate:

MacKinnon acknowledges the Cole Harbour old-timers in town and points out that he played all his minor hockey in Cole Harbour, whereas Crosby went across the street and played for Dartmouth at one point:

Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Joe Sakic and head coach Patrick Roy from the Colorado Avalanche look on during the 2013 NHL Draft at the Prudential Center on June 30, 2013 in Newark, N.J. (Bruce Bennett, Getty Images)

Sunday’s paper and online will feature an analysis piece based on my meeting with Avalanche GM Joe Sakic and interviews with Colorado captain Gabe Landeskog, alternate captain Cody McLeod, defenseman Francois Beauchemin — who wasn’t here last year — coach Patrick Roy and a handful of others. Insight on the road is priceless and, although we only had one morning skate during the recent three-game trip, I have much to share.

Bottom line: The Avs are 3-6-1 (seven points) and, while I strongly feel that this is a better team than last season, the record doesn’t prove that. They were 2-4-4 (eight points) after 10 games last season. I also have our NHL column on Sidney Crosby, as it relates to Matt Duchene. Crosby had points in just one of his first nine games and Duchene has points in just two of 10.

About that headline teaser: I had to trim the story. Had to eliminate this quote from Sakic (from Friday, before the 2-1 win at Tampa): “We’re disappointed in the start, for sure. We were expecting more, for sure. But we can’t hang our heads. Now, it’s time to perform. We gotta get wins. The guys put pressure on themselves to get off to a good start. It didn’t happen. And some guys are squeezing their sticks now, trying to find it offensively. But we’ll find ways to win games.”

Landeskog (Friday before the 2-1 win at Tampa): “It’s been frustrating that we can’t put it all together. But we know that, when we compare where we’re at right now to last year, we’re way ahead right now. On the power play at this point last year we couldn’t even get set up in the zone. We know that once we put the whole game together, once we get all the parts to play well, we know we’re going to be a really good team and play with confidence. Right now we’re not playing with that confidence that could be the small difference. Once we get it and put together three or four wins in a row, I think we’ll be a tough team to beat.”

He added: “We’re putting in the work, every day and every night. And we’re going to get rewarded for it. Once we do get rewarded for it, I think the fans will see that it’ll be worth it.”

Cody McLeod (Thursday from morning skate): “You have to stay positive. We could easily be 5-2-1 as 2-5-1. For the most part we’ve played pretty good hockey. It’s just a couple lapses here and there that are killing us. It’s frustrating because everybody in here wants more. We expect more.”

We had this lead note item from Tampa Bay about Jack Skille, who has not been given the green light to buy or rent a place in Denver. The team still pays for his hotel — in Colorado and on the road. Skille, of course, came into camp on a PTO, made the team and signed a modest two-way deal. He’s now a top-six forward, and although the results aren’t there, he’s not the problem. Good speed and size, and he can play on any line.

“Hard work isn’t finished — not even close,” Skille told me. “My style of game is — it’s not going to change no matter where I am in the lineup. I sound like a broken record; I’ve told that to a lot of people. But it’s reality. I’m a north-south player, use my speed and be good on the forecheck and create space by being physical — getting to the net. These (top-six) guys are able to make plays and get the puck to the net, and I want to be there when it’s there.”

About the PTO and still living out of a hotel in Denver area: “Obviously, it’s not a comfortable situation as a player, to not have a contract going into camp. But I think I learned a lot from it. I think I learned a lot about myself and my game, and what’s going to help me and hurt me. I want to play here and I want to stay here. I don’t want to keep going into free agency with question marks every single year. It would be good to make a home, especially here in Denver with the Avs … As far as comfort level, this league has gotten too good as far as players coming up — for guys like me in my position to be comfortable.”

Skille is just 28. He was a first-round draftee by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2005 (seventh overall) after winning a NCAA championship with his hometown Wisconsin Badgers. He lived a charmed life as a youth hockey player, including playing for the U.S. National Development Program in high school. Now, he’s battling to make a living against the up-and-coming stars he used to be.

University of Denver defenseman Patrick Weircioch, now playing for the Ottawa Senators and Canada’s 2015 Worlds team, celebrates a goal with Joe Colborne, now with the Calgary Flames. Denver media photo

Former University of Denver standout Patrick Wiercioch of the Ottawa Senators has joined Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh) and Dan Hamhuis (Vancouver) for Team Canada’s World Championship team after their NHL teams were ousted in the first round of the playoffs. The Avalanche has four players on the team in forwards Matt Duchene, Ryan O’Reilly, Nathan MacKinnon and defenseman Tyson Barrie.

Wiercioch, 24, is the only Canadian on the 23-man roster to have played NCAA hockey. He was a healthy scratch when the Avalanche played at Ottawa last fall but finished as the Senators’ No. 2 D-man behind Erik Karlsson. In Monday’s Game 7 loss to Montreal, Wiercioch logged 23:53, including 4:30 on the power play — second highest behind Karlsson (32:11, 8:00).

The 6-foot-5 Wiercioch, from Maple Ridge, B.C., is under contract next season at $2.7 million before becoming a restricted free agent. At this rate, he will likely break the bank in his ensuing UFA years. He has great hands and vision to go along with his excellent skating ability for a big man.

Wiercioch was dominant at DU as a true freshman in 2008-09, producing 12 goals and 35 points in 39 games. He signed with Ottawa after a similarly good sophomore season; the Sens selected him in the second round (42nd overall) in the 2008 draft. Weircioch’s story is interesting because, he originally committed to Wisconsin, but the Badgers were stocked at D and asked him to play another year of junior-A. Denver originally recruited him, and eventually signed him after David Carle was diagnosed with a deadly heart defect at the NHL scouting combine and was forced to retire. Wiercioch recognized DU’s loss and made the call to then-coach George Gwozdecky that eventually brought him to Denver. Wiercioch became an All-American and Carle is now DU’s No. 1 assistant coach under Jim Montgomery.

Avalanche center Matt Duchene talks about beating buddy Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-1 on Wednesday night in Denver. Duchene and teammate Nathan MacKinnon train with Crosby in the summer. Crosby was pointless, minus-1 and didn’t produce a shot in 19:19 against the Avs:

The Avalanche surprisingly had an relatively intense hour-long practice Thursday, despite coming off a 3-1 win over visiting Pittsburgh on Wednesday and not playing again until Saturday at Columbus. The Avs will have a brief skate Friday morning before traveling to Ohio. Colorado concludes a consecutive-night road trip Sunday at Minnesota. I’ll be there, and I think we can all expect a whale of a hockey game. More on that from the Avs’ perspective in the coming days.

Avs coach Patrick Roy said goalie Semyon Varlamov is scheduled to make his 21st and 22nd consecutive starts against the Blue Jackets and Wild. The Avs’ record for consecutive starts is held by Craig Anderson (23 in 2010), but if Varlamov remains healthy, he will break it. Roy said backup Reto Berra will probably get a game or two during the last 18 games. As for Calvin Pickard, the guy with the .936 NHL save percentage this season, he’ll finish the year at Lake Erie of the AHL unless Varlamov or Berra are injured.

“I like the way he’s been practicing. I think we’re going in the right direction with him and I think he deserves a chance to play,” Roy said of Berra (3.39 GAA, .890 SP).

Avs forward Joey Hishon, the team’s first-round draft pick in 2010 (17th overall), made his NHL regular-season debut Wednesday against the Pens. Hishon, 23, had two shots and two hits in 8:05 on the fourth line. He was not on the power play.

“It was good. It was a lot of fun. I thought I did what I had to do, and work hard,” Hishon told me Thursday. “But I have to build on it every single game. It’s a tough league to play in. Guys are really strong, really fast.”

About facing Crosby and company, Hishon said: “I couldn’t stop looking at Sid in warmups because I grew up idolizing him. It was cool to see him out there. But as soon as the game started it was business as usual, just another player out there.”

Footnotes. No update on defenseman Erik Johnson, who is six weeks out from undergoing minor knee surgery but has not been seen skating (besides taking the on-ice team picture Wednesday). The Avs originally said EJ would miss 3-8 weeks, because it’s a better way of saying “out indefinitely.” But indefinitely appears to be more accurate right now. … In addition to winning a car for a fan by scoring 13 seconds into the second period Wednesday, Jarome Iginla’s power-play goal was his 173rd, tying Raymond Bourque for 27th all-time. Bourque has the most PPGs among defensemen in the history of the game. Iginla’s 20th goal of the season also gave him 16 20-goal campaigns, second most among active players behind Jaromir Jagr (18). Next up on the career power-play goals list is No. 26 Michel Goulet (178), the former Quebec Nordiques great.

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Milan Hejduk, who played his entire 1,020-game NHL career with Colorado, will present Alex Tanguay with gifts during the pregame ceremony. Here’s Tanguay going into his 1,000th career NHL regular-season game:

PITTSBURGH — The game story is all about Calvin Pickard, the 22-year-old Avalanche rookie goalie who undoubtedly deserves to continue to play in the NHL. In the latest edition of his standing-on-head performances, Pickard had a 47-save shutout brewing in overtime before Blake Comeau capitalized on a rebound to win it for the Penguins, 1-0 at the Consol Energy Center.

Please click to the gamer for Patrick Roy’s off-camera thoughts about what the Avs will probably do when Semyon Varlamov is cleared to play. Varly is scheduled to practice with the team Friday in Buffalo and, according to Roy, will replace Pickard when he’s deemed ready. And it doesn’t appear the third goalie on the food chain, Reto Berra, will take his $1.45 million salary to the minors. All signs point toward Pickard ($810,000 NHL salary, $67,500 AHL) going back to Lake Erie of the American Hockey League.

Roy said Pickard’s play is a “wakeup call for Berra. He needs to see what’s going on right now and compete better in practice.”Read more…

PITTSBURGH — No morning skate for the Avalanche, a decision made for two reasons: 1) Avs practiced the last three days and are properly prepared; 2) No need to double their chances of someone catching the mumps and having the illness spread through the team like the Penguins.

I chose to skip the morning skate too. Because of the mumps outbreak here, I wasn’t going to go into the Pittsburgh locker room anyway. It would have been good to get some video on Sidney Crosby, but that’s available elsewhere.

PITTSBURGH — So … I was a little worried about working the mumps-infected (but-now-sanitized) locker rooms at Consol Energy Center on Thursday but, after my flight here Wednesday, I’m more concerned about other illnesses. The guy sitting next to me with a newborn became ill 10 minutes into the flight, vomiting in a bag while holding the baby, and to give him more room, and air, a flight attendant moved me to the bulk-head row, the only vacant seat on the plane — where a young woman, a freshman at CU-Boulder, was not feeling well as she traveled home to Pittsburgh for Christmas. During her multiple sprints to the head, the third passenger in our row and I were hoping she just had a wicked hangover. But as I write, I’m chugging the Emergen-C I purchased in the hotel, a Marriott located a block away from the Penguins’ downtown arena.

Sidney Crosby is feeling better while recovering from the mumps but it appears doubtful he’ll play against the Avs on Thursday. Crosby, who has missed the last three games, skated on his own Wednesday and might participate in the morning skate Thursday, GM Jim Rutherford told local reporters. Nobody is saying Crosby won’t play Thursday night against the Avs, but it seems highly doubtful.

In this blog late Saturday night, I could have written a better headline, other than “Blues-clad fans disrupt Avalanche power play.” I was playing off Patrick Roy’s acknowledgement that he saw the fight in the stands, and that is was ugly and unfortunate. But Roy was not making excuses why the Avs’ power play didn’t capitalize at that point. Roy simply said: “Kind of took the focus off our power play. I saw a few punches.” Let’s leave it at that.Read more…

Avalanche captain Gabe Landeskog is among nine NHL standouts in the league’s 30-second Hockey Fights Cancer commercial. As the video shows, Landeskog is fighting for Basse, a close friend back in Sweden who watched both is parents die from different types of cancer.

“His real name is Sebastian and we call him Basse,” Landeskog told me after Tuesday’s practice. “He’s one of my best buddies back home. My first year in the NHL, 2011, he lost both of his parents within a two-month span.”

I didn’t get Sebastian’s last name, but a Twitter follower said he is a hockey player:

MONTREAL — Greetings from the land of Habs, which, to those who don’t know, is the English nickname for the Montreal Canadiens, the abbreviation of “Les Habitants.”

The Avalanche traveled here Wednesday after practice and will play consecutive-night preseason games against the Canadiens on Thursday in Montreal and Friday in Quebec City, where the Nordiques/Avalanche franchise was born. It’s obviously a special trip for Roy, who won two of his four Stanley Cups with Montreal, and Avs GM Joe Sakic, who played his first seven NHL seasons with the Nordiques.

I’m unsure whether Avs defensive coach Adam Foote is on the trip. Foote, who played four seasons in Quebec, is the head coach of a Colorado Thunderbirds Triple-A team and doesn’t usually travel. It’s a reunion for Jean Martineau, the Avs’ longtime PR chief who has been with the franchise since 1986. He grew up in Quebec and his grandfather and father owned the Quebec Aces of the American Hockey League.

I know former Halifax Mooseheads star Nathan MacKinnon is pumped for his major-junior homecoming.

Word from those who have indeed seen Nathan MacKinnon recently up in Vail, where he training with his trainer Andy O’Brien – whose other clients are some guys named Sidney Crosby, Matt Duchene, John Tavares and others – is that he’s drawn the most raves not only for his skill but newly added strength and size.

Based on multiple reports, there seems to be no deal in place with the Steve Moore vs. Todd Bertuzzi/Vancouver Canucks civil lawsuit, and colleague Terry Frei will columnize on the situation in Monday’s Denver Post. Reports last week that the case was settled seemed to be inaccurate, even with the Bertuzzi/Canucks camp saying it was finalized. Representatives for Moore, the former Avalanche forward who was attacked by Bertuzzi and has not played hockey since, say it is not. Court date presumably remains Sept. 8, but a settlement is expected to be reached before then to avoid the NHL’s dirty laundry from being exposed. To that end, Terry Frei — who covered that ugly 2004 game in Vancouver and the ensuing rehabilitation and legal matters from Ontario — has great insight.

As @rickwesthead is reporting, there is no signed agreement in Moore-Bertuzzi. Which explains why lawyer Tim Danson has been so invisible.

When: The Penguins make their only scheduled Denver appearance of the season Sunday night at the Pepsi Center.

What’s up: Never in Crosby’s career has he played in all 82 games, but he is on pace to do so this season. He has played 81 games twice, but never gone the distance. He’s made quite a recovery from the concussion problems that plagued him a few years ago, and is back to being the NHL’s best player.

Background: Most hockey fans know Crosby’s story pretty well by now. He is from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia. That’s also the hometown of Avalanche rookie Nathan MacKinnon. Crosby was the No. 1 pick in the 2005 draft and has won the Stanley Cup and two Olympic gold medals.

Dater’s take: Crosby is the favorite to win his first Hart Trophy since the 2006-07 season. He’s also well on his way to winning the Art Ross Trophy as the league’s leading scorer. He’s in his first 100-point season since 2009-10. Last week, I mused about perhaps making Boston’s Patrice Bergeron my Hart Trophy pick because of his tremendous two-way game. But Crosby probably deserves the trophy more. He has kept up his scoring despite injuries to other key Penguins, keeping the team well positioned in the Eastern Conference hierarchy as the playoffs approach.

Colorado Avalanche coach Patrick Roy yells out from behind the bench as his team faces the Montreal Canadiens during first period NHL hockey action Tuesday, March 18, 2014 in Montreal. (Paul Chiasson, Canadian Press)

MONTREAL — It definitely wasn’t all J.S. Giguere’s fault Tuesday night. If Marc-Andre Cliche and Jan Hejda can clear a puck, the Avs probably get at least a point tonight and all is well. But they both failed to make easy clears with time starting to run out on a Montreal power play, which allowed the Habs to keep it in and get Thomas Vanek’s second goal of the night in what proved a 6-3 win.

But obviously, Jiggy didn’t help his own cause, either. The Canadiens got that power play, with 6:43 left, when Giguere was caught holding the stick of Max Pacioretty. Your own goalie can’t be taking penalties late in a tie game, obviously.

It all just added up to a very sour final 10 minutes at the Bell Centre. To that point, I thought the Avs had played a pretty decent game. Jiggy had been kind of shaky all night, but I thought the Avs would find a way to at least get a point after Jamie McGinn tied up it up midway through the third. Not to be.

When: Crosby, the NHL’s acknowledged greatest player going, leads Canada into the Olympics in Sochi as the defending gold-medal champions. Round-robin play starts this week.

What’s up: Crosby scored the overtime winner for Canada in 2010 in Vancouver, dubbed “The Golden Goal.” It came against the United States, after the Americans tied it late in regulation.

Background: Crosby hails from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, the same hometown as the Avs’ Nathan MacKinnon, who figures to play on a Canadian Olympic team before he’s done. The first pick in the NHL’s 2005 draft, Crosby has been every bit as good as advertised since coming into the league.

Dater’s take: The Canadians take international tournaments so seriously, there is more pressure on Crosby than probably any other hockey player in Sochi.

But he always handles pressure with such ease. Crosby was groomed for the big stage at an early age, and hasn’t disappointed. He has already won a Stanley Cup and a gold medal, and he’s only 26.

Canadians love Crosby not only for his talent, but his humble nature. He goes about his job like a dedicated backshop employee, never asking for the spotlight. But his talent is such that the spotlight is unavoidable. He is arguably the greatest player in the world.

Nathan MacKinnon, the No. 1 overall pick in the first round by the Colorado Avalanche, speaks with the media during the 2013 NHL Draft at the Prudential Center on June 30, 2013 in Newark, N.J. (Mike Stobe, Getty Images)

From the NHL, Nathan MacKinnon’s words with with the media after being taken by the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday:

Question: Thoughts on going No. 1?NATHAN MacKINNON: This is unbelievable. I’ve dreamed about this moment for the majority of my life, and for it to finally come true and to be part of an organization like this is definitely surreal.

Q. When did you know?NATHAN MacKINNON: When you guys found out. They didn’t tell me to my face that they were going to take me. Obviously they said it in the media, but didn’t want to get my hopes up for anything. Definitely a little bit more nervous than I expected to be a couple minutes before the draft. But it all worked out, and this is definitely an unreal moment.

VANCOUVER — Seems like the right time to jump into the Calder Trophy conversation, which might begin and end with Avalanche MVP Gabriel Landeskog. The 19-year-old should win the NHL rookie-of-the-year award. He not only is the most complete player among rookies, he might be one of the league’s most complete players.

Landeskog leads the Avs with 78 games played, 22 goals, plus-20 rating, 258 shots, 207 hits and is first among forwards with 53 blocked shots. Among NHL rookies, he is first in shots and takeaways (56) and tied for first in goals (with PHI’s Matt Read), points (49 with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins) and second in plus-minus (NYR’s Carl Hagelin is plus-22) and PPGs with six (BUF’s Cody Hodgson has seven).

Landeskog is the second rookie to produce 20 goals and 200 hits in the season (joining Dian Phaneuf of Calgary in 2005-06) and has the most shots as a rookie since Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby amassaed 426 and 278, respectively, in that same year.

Ryan “The Factor” (or “Radar” to some) O’Reilly got a nice stick tap today from esteemed Sports Illustrated hockey writer Michael Farber. O’Reilly was named to Farber’s annual “Stealth List” of people who quietly go about making the game better. Click on the article here to find out why.

O’Reilly has absolutely been tremendous so far this season, especially on faceoffs (57.4 percent). He’s also accumulating points, and has just been much better overall with his creativity with the puck than the first two years.

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I’ll be heading to the rink soon for the morning skate. Tonight’s 8 p.m. start time is to accommodate “Hockey Night in Canada”, which always gets the players a little more fired up. It makes for a later bedtime for everyone, and isn’t fun for newspaper writers on a tight deadline for a Sunday paper, but it’s always fun for the players and, hopefully, the fans.

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No Peter Mueller tonight for the Avs. Still day-to-day. It will be very interesting to see if he makes the road trip the Avs will start Tuesday in Pittsburgh. I’ll bet yes that he does, but whether he plays or not remains in question. So, too, does it remain in question of whether Penguins mega-star Sidney Crosby will make his return from a concussion against the Avs, on national TV (Versus).

Terry Frei graduated from Wheat Ridge High School in the Denver area and has degrees in history and journalism from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He worked for the Rocky Mountain News while attending CU and joined the Post staff after graduation. He has also worked at the Oregonian in Portland, Ore., and The Sporting News. His seventh book, March 1939: Before the Madness, was issued in February 2014.

Chambers covers college and professional hockey for The Denver Post. He has written for the Post since 1994, after dumping his first 9-to-5 office job a couple years out of college. He primarily follows the University of Denver hockey team and helps cover the Avalanche.